Hikers Embark on a 1,600-Mile Journey from Nevada to Canada
In an adventurous endeavor, Visit Carson City has launched the Carson to Canada Quest, offering two intrepid hikers $5,000 each to traverse 1,600 miles from Nevada’s capital to the Canadian border. This unique contest aims to spotlight the newly established Capitol to Tahoe Trail, a route that now links Carson City with the Pacific Crest Trail via the Tahoe Rim Trail.
From a pool of over 350 global applicants, two standout hikers from Colorado, Audrey Payne of Boulder and Julianne Mahoney of Durango, have been selected to undertake this epic trek. Payne expressed her disbelief upon learning she had been chosen, stating, “Oh my gosh. I was so blown away. I had been seeing this contest everywhere for months, and I had had so many different people send it to me. So getting chosen, I couldn’t believe it.”
Lydia Beck, marketing and public relations manager for Visit Carson City, emphasized that both women were chosen not only for their hiking prowess but also for their storytelling abilities. “These two women were just extraordinary hikers and backpackers,” Beck noted. “The physicality of it was just one piece. But the whole point of this is to have someone to be able to share their story and bring us along for the ride on the experience. And both of them are exceptional storytellers.”
Payne has embarked on an even larger journey, taking on the entire Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), beginning her trek at the Mexican border earlier this month. She plans to reach Carson City by mid-June, where she will join Mahoney to continue northward together. Although they will start their expedition side by side, each hiker will proceed at her own pace, with both aiming to complete their quest by October.
Winning the contest was a pivotal moment for Payne, who had long aspired to hike the PCT. “I’ve been wanting to hike the PCT for a few years now, and I felt like it just always felt like the wrong time,” she remarked. “So I felt like, by winning this contest, that was the universe being like, ‘Okay, you’re supposed to go in 2025.’”
